Though My Hearts May Falter
by Jellybeansarecool
Summary: After an uneventful archaeological survey with her students Professor River Song must battle the elements, rescue a scared teenager, and find her way home. She's good, but is she that good?


**A/N: So I intended to write a short one-shot and while it is still a one-shot it got a bit away from me. I tried to write something a little more _adventurous_ than what I have done before and hopefully it has turned out ok! **

River poked her head out of the rickety door. The wind had picked up speed since she saw off the last of her students and now her curls were thrown about her face in every direction.

"Damn." She swore under her breath as she squinted in hopes of seeing someone, anyone who was stupid enough to brave the terrible storm that was about to mercilessly hit the area. Quickly ducking her head back into the small wooden hut River narrowly avoided being hit in the face by a flying branch. The first of what was sure to be many more.

Pacing back and forth across the harden dirt floor Professor Song tried to think of what she could do. The week had started off nicely, she had brought half-a-dozen graduate students in to survey the area. After an uneventful couple of days word had gotten to their remote camp that there was going to be a huge storm and that they needed to get out before it started. River had made sure that her students were transported back to the university with all of the equipment, including anything with which she would have been able to use to reach for help.

Instead of going with her students River had decided to stay on a little longer and use her vortex manipulator to get out before the storm hit. River sighed. There will be a time when her archaeological and scientific curiosity would get her killed, she thought as she surveyed her surroundings once again.

The plan would have worked fine if her vortex manipulator was working. River slammed her hand against the device to no avail. It wasn't working. Her husband would say that it served her right for relying on such a cheap and nasty piece of time travel equipment.

River huffed angrily before she resumed her pacing. Her first thought was to stay in the shack and wait the storm out but after inspecting the small wooden building she had no hope that it would survive the storm. With no regeneration energy and no one to pull her out of the wreckage there was so hope that she could stay and live.

Pulling her backpack on River took a deep steadying breath before opening the door. Stepping out into the dark and the wind was like stepping into a whole new world. The little building had been creaking and groaning at very thrust of the wind but having stepped outside River's ears could hear nothing except for the howling of the wind. The pressure of the storm added to the fierce blow of the wind which meant that even if she had wanted to scream even she wouldn't have been able to hear it. The wind would have torn it from her throat.

River began to push through the wind and towards the narrow dirt road that lead down the rocky mountain. The wind tore at her face and clothes. Tears ran from her eyes as the dust and air blew hard across her face but the tears didn't manage to run down her face as they were blown away and dried in an instant.

River whipped her head around at the faint sound of a crash. How she had heard it above the sound of the wind, she will never know, the hut in which she had spent the last few days was crashed to the ground and pieces of wood could be seen flying through the air. There was nothing left except to hope to find a shelter such as a cave.

The wind was calmer further down the mountain. River walked alongside the rocky cliff-like wall in hopes of finding some place in which to rest but to her dismay there was nothing. At least now someone would be able to hear her over the wind, at least they would have been able if there was anyone else out there.

Coming to a fork in the road River had a decision to make, continue to take the road down the mountain, take the road into the heavily forested area, or return to the rocky road that lead to a destroyed cabin? Obviously, the last option wasn't an option at all and the forest was unlikely to provide the cover that she was going to need. With a heavy sigh River made the decision to continue down the mountain. There was little hope now that she would find shelter before the storm truly hit. She knew that it wasn't just heavy downpours of rain that she would have to worry about.

In addition to the flooding, flying debris, and gale-force winds River tried to mentally prepare herself for the forked lightning, mud slides, and hailstones as large as her head that came down both as giant balls of ice and as burning balls of fire. Before the trained assassin could take a step on the road on which she was to travel a beat up old car came barreling out of the forest path. It looked like it was an old earth model, though this wasn't earth and it wasn't running smoothly.

"What are you doing out here?" The car had slammed to a stop and a tall looking green man with no hair and four ears unfolded himself from the car to yell at her.

"My cabin," River pointed up the road that she had climbed down from, "was destroyed in the wind. I'm trying to find shelter!"

"What? I can't hear you. **The wind is getting worse.** **DO YOU WANT A RIDE?** "

" **What was that? COULD YOU GIVE ME A RIDE?** "

"Oh, for crying out loud. Literally." One of the other passengers of the car grumbled to herself as she kicked open the door and grabbed onto River's arm and pulled her in.

"Oh! Thank you." River smiled at the other woman she was sitting beside.

The green man folded himself back into the driver's seat and slammed the door shut before bringing the engine roaring to life. "I'm Lex, by the way." He spoke loudly in order to be heard over the sounds of the storm outside of the little car.

"Jonathon." The other man in the front of the car lifted his pale hand in a small wave. Of the three original inhabitants of the car he was the only one who appeared to be human. His ginger hair stood in stark contrast to the smooth green skin of the other man.

"Rayne." The soft voice of the woman beside her differed dramatically from the force with which she had pulled River into the car. Her hair was jet black and silky, it was barely contained in a long braid as it seemed to have a tendency to wisp around her head and shoulders. However, it was her arms and hands that surprised River the most. Though her face was round, her eyes almond, and her skin creamy, her arms were of a strong tentacle. Looking down at her wrist River saw circular welts from where the suckers had gipped her arm.

River realized that they were waiting for her to introduce herself to them, "Professor River Song."

"A Professor!" Jonathon smiled.

"Of what?" Lex asked.

"Archaeology."

"Where are your students?" Rayne inquired.

"I sent them off ahead of me and I got caught in the storm. Why _are you_ driving about in the storm?" River intended to turn the questioning around.

"We were camping out in the forest-" Lex began.

"You know, like how they used to do on earth?" Jonathon continued for his friend. River was sure she was going to get a headache if they continued to finish each other's thoughts.

"But then the storm came." Rayne joined in.

"There was huge flashes of lightning!"

"Were." River muttered under her breath.

"They started to get closer to us." Lex continued without missing a beat as he swerved around a fallen tree.

"That's when Skeets was hit." Rayne finished sadly.

"So we all jumped in the car and booked it out of there!" Lex took over again.

"It was bad." Jonathon said as the others nodded their heads, "there wasn't anything left of Skeets. Not even ash, the wind blew it away."

"I'm sorry." River felt bad for the three friends. They seemed to only be teenagers and had just lost a friend in a horrible manner. They nodded and lapsed into silence. The only sound to be heard was the battering of the wind against the car.

The rain began to beat down hard and flashes of lightning lit up the sky and ground. They had made it off the mountain but the danger hadn't lessened. The road was washing away and Lex had to slow to almost a standstill to keep any traction on what was left of the road. The tension in the car was high when the hail began to fall. At first they were small but the ice and fire rocks began to get larger.

Every time one fell Rayne would let out squeak. She tried to hold it in but couldn't. After the sixth stone barely missed the car Jonathon stopped turning around to glare at her. His hand rested on Lex's thigh as a sign of encouragement and his brow furrowed in concentration. Lex swore with every slide and narrow miss.

In an effort to comfort the young woman beside her River scooped Rayne into her arms and held her tight. The girl buried her head into River's shoulder and held onto River's arms tightly with her tentacles. River made no mention of the pain her arms felt as Rayne's suckers burned welts into her arms, instead she spoke softly to her in many different languages – hoping to find one that would keep the girl calm.

After ten minutes of terror the good luck of narrow misses came to an end. A large fiery rock came hurtling out of the sky and slammed into the bonnet of the car. Jonathon died instantly, blood running down his face and across his chest. Lex cried in anguish as his body was impaled with metal and his arms burned from the heat of the rock. Pulling himself around the metal that was suck in his leg he turned to Jonathon. Blue tears ran down his green face, he planted a kiss on the other teenager's forehead before losing consciousness.

Quickly taking stock of what had happened, River kicked the door open and pulled Rayne out of the car. The rain beat down on them and soaked them to the skin in an instant. Cradling the girl to her chest River stumbled in the mud. Pulling back a little River tried to assess the teenager's injuries. The fire had gone out quickly due to the rain so she had escaped getting burned but there was a large cut across her hip.

"Come on, Sweet Heart," River tugged at the girl, "the town is close. We have to get there." A few minutes back River had spotted a sign pointing towards the town, it was only a few kilometers away. If they were lucky they might make it.

"Noooo." Rayne pushed back against River. Blood continued to run down her hip and her eyes were beginning to cloud over. "Lex, Jonny!" She sobbed.

"They're dead. I'm sorry, but you will be too if we don't get going." River began to drag the girl through the mud. She hadn't known Rayne for long but she felt a sense of duty towards her.

Each step grew harder as the muddy water rose around their ankles. The hailstones continued to fall around them. River gritted her teeth and tried to see through the streaming water that ran through her hair and down her face. They fell repetitively, mud encased their bodies. The only thing besides the bite of the wind that reminded River that she was still alive was the searing heat that emanated from the welts that spread up from her arms to her right shoulder and neck. It was the searing pain and Rayne's laboured breathing that kept the hope of the girl's survival alight within River's chest.

"I can't." Rayne slipped from River's grasp and fell into the muddied water yet again. The brown water rushed past her hips and tentacle-like arms, a streak of red showing where the girl's wound still bled.

"You can." River knelt in the cold water and cupped Rayne's face with her hands. Lifting her voice to be heard above the rain and wind, River continued, "You can do this, you are doing this. Stand!" She pulled the girl's tentacle over her shoulder, wincing as the suckers bit into her skin, River hauled the girl to her feet and began to walk.

Step after exhausting step River walked while holding onto Rayne. Soon a small glow of light could be seen. River would have whooped for joy if she had any energy left in her body. Making her way to the light she saw a solidly built farmhouse on the edge of town. Turning towards the house River muttered encouragements to herself and Rayne. They were going to make it.

Kicking the door heavily with her sodden boot River hoped that there was someone in the house. Sure enough the door opened a crack and when an old woman with a wizened face and white hair pulled open the door enough for them to get in River almost collapsed with relief.

Placing Rayne on a solid wood table and rubbing her dry with an old fluffy yellow towel the old man of the house questioned River, "What were you doing out there? It's a good thing we didn't evacuate with the rest of the town."

"Yes, we are very thankful." River nodded as she accepted another large fluffy towel from the man's wife. "Wait. Did you say evacuate?"

"Yes, Dearie." The woman nodded. "All the young folk left on the shuttles. I think the last one was leaving at four o'clock. They held back the time so that those who were further away could get in."

River looked at the clock that was hanging beside the sink. "Is that clock right?" She demanded.

The man turned to look, "It sure is. Edna, here," he nodded at his wife, "is very particular."

"Where were the shuttles leaving from?" River rushed.

"Just the other side of town." The woman's wrinkles appeared to grow as she frowned in confusion. "Why do you want to know?"

River didn't hear the last part as she threw down her towel, "I have to try and make it. There's fifteen minutes left. Thank you so much for your hospitality. Please look after her." River shot out the sentences like bullets.

The woman followed River to the door on old arthritic feet. "You'll never make it." She warned.

"I have to try." River said as she stepped out into the storm.

"We have to board up the door. Once you leave, you can't get back in." The woman's voice wavered with worry.

"Don't worry about me. Just look after the girl."

"We will."

"Thank you." River called back as she ran through the muddy water. Her words were torn away by the wind and when she turned her head to look the door was closed and she was alone in the wind and rain.

Running through the flooded streets, River's hearts pounded in her chest. They beat furiously not just from exertion but from fear that she would be too late. The ground was slippery and the wind was strong, she could barely see anything through the water that ran down her face. Every ounce of energy was put into running towards the shuttle take off.

Like a bright beacon of hope River saw the shuttle sitting undamaged from the hailstones that were destroying the houses as she ran by. It shone bight on the landing strip at the edge of town. River could even see the last of the stragglers entering the shuttle. A smile broke out across her face as she willed her legs to go faster.

Coming up to the landing strip, River realised that it was raised. She had two choices, one, she could run around the strip and find the stairs to the top, or two, she could climb the rock face to the top on the side she was already on. It didn't take her long to decide. Throwing herself against the wall River tried to get a grip on the wet rocks. In dry weather she would have been able to scale the wall in a matter of minutes but it was a whole different game with the water rushing down the rock face, mud coating the rocks, and her arms still burning from the welts that ran across them.

Pulling herself over the edge of the landing strip, River grunted in satisfaction. Her joy was short lived, however, as the shuttle began to lift into the air and with it her hopes of getting off the planet.

"No. No. No." River dug her water wrinkled hands into her dripping hair and tugged in agitation. She fell to her knees and mud splashed up all around. "NOOO!"

Fatigue weighed her down. The wind whipped at her wet and heavy clothes. Kneeling in the mud River gave herself over to exhaustion. As she collapsed she heard the sound of home… the sound of her mother… the sound of her husband failing to drive the Tardis. A small smile graced her lips at what she was sure was a fabrication of her exhausted mind.

* * *

"River! River!" The Doctor looked out at the destroyed landscape. Water swirled everywhere, buildings were crushed by large rocks of ice and fire that continued to fall from the sky, the wind tore at what remained, and the sky continued its onslaught of rain. After a quick glance at the uninhabitable environment his gaze returned to River. Stepping out of the Tardis he hurried through the thick mud and circled his arms around her shoulders.

Pulling as quickly as he could, the Doctor dragged River into the Tardis and through the halls towards one of the bathrooms. He didn't care which as long as it had a large bath full of heated water. The Tardis twisted her halls so that he didn't have to travel far.

Cursing softly the Doctor pulled River's mud soaked clothes from her body. Thanking his ship he carefully lowered River into the warm shallow water. As he began to wash away the mud River groaned.

"River!" He exclaimed with joy.

"Doctor?" River groaned and blinked a few times as she tried to take in what she was seeing. Her husband was kneeling in a wide tub with her, washing off the mud and blood that she had accumulated in the last twenty-four hours. He was in nothing but a pair of boxers that had bow-ties and fezzes printed on the fabric. Wearily she turned her head and saw his mud soaked clothes in a pile with her own. Frowning she looked down at herself, he had left her in her bra and thong, both of which were stained with mud.

"Doctor, why am I still in my underwear?" She looked up at him.

The last of the Time Lords blushed furiously, "Uh, be-be-because, uh."

"Oh, shut up." River began to move painfully. "Help me get this thing off." She tried to reach behind her to unclasp her bra.

The Doctor's hand shot out, "No!"

"What's wrong? It's not like you haven't seen it all before."

The Doctor squeaked.

"Oh. You haven't, have you?" River leaned back with a sigh.

The Doctor scratched his cheek nervously, "If you're awake you can finish up. And, uh, I'll go get dressed." He looked down at his boxers that were wet from the water he was using to clean her with. His face grew pink as a blush crossed his cheeks.

"Fine." River groaned as she tried to stand.

"That is, if that is what you want." He added hastily as he helped her stand.

"I just want to get this bloody thing off and into bed." River grumbled. She tried not to show how hurt she was with the Doctor not knowing who she was.

The Doctor let out a little sigh and moved to stand behind River. His eyes dropped to her rounded buttocks, easily visible in the thong that she was wearing. He swallowed thickly and turned his eyes to where her bra strap sat against her back. It wasn't much better. His hearts were pounding in his chest as he reached out a shaky hand to help her.

When he spoke his voice was mostly under control, "Here let me." He whispered. He unclasped the bra and reached behind himself for a large towel.

River nodded her thanks as she accepted the towel that the Doctor draped over her shoulders.

"I'm sorry, Melody." He whispered as he stepped away.

River spun on the spot, her feet slipped on the bottom of the tub and her hands let go of the towel in an effort to swing her arms and regain her balance.

The Doctor gulped at the sight of her breasts, now uncovered as the towel sat in the water still at the bottom of the bathtub. His eyes flickered about the room, continually going from the sight of River's creamy skin that still had gritty mud and dirt around her full breasts to anywhere else.

"What did you call me?" River snapped.

The Doctor's attention was immediately brought to River's hard face, "Melody?"

"Why?"

The Doctor was confused by River's line of questioning. He had just come from Demon's Run. River had just told him that she was Melody and in his excitement he had asked the Tardis to take him to her. What he didn't understand was how he had come to be on a planet wrecked by storm and standing in front of a practically naked River – make that an angry naked River.

"Because that's your name, you are Melody Pond." The Doctor frowned.

"No. That was my name, I am River Song. Dr. River Song. _Professor_ River Song." River glared. Melody was the girl who had been kidnaped by the Silence, Melody was the girl who almost succeeded in killing the Doctor, Melody was an assassin. River was a woman, a woman who had taken her training and fought against the brainwashing, a woman who could choose who she wanted to be, and a woman who was her own person. Not someone who was owned by another.

The only people who called her Melody were her parents – they had the right to call her by the name they had given her. She had talked about this with him. It was another jab to her hearts, he didn't _know_ her yet.

The Doctor balked at hearing the title Professor. The last time he had heard that was in his last body.

"Well?" River frowned, she rested her fists on her hips in expectation and annoyance.

The Doctor's eyes were once again drawn downward. He closed them and made the effort to look at his friend (lover?) in the eyes. "I thought that once I knew that you are Melody, I could use your name, your real name."

River sighed, "River is my _real_ name." She moved slightly and bent past the man who would one day be her husband to grab another towel.

The Doctor angled away so that she could reach past him but her soft waterlogged skin still brushed across his skin. He looked down at her and saw the hurt in her eyes at his quick back step.

He took a step closer when she had straightened and wrapped the towel around herself. "I'm sorry. Of course River is your real name. I love that name. River is a _cool_ name." He smiled.

Against River's will a small smile tugged at her lips. No matter how mad she got at him or how hurt she felt when he didn't know their relationship with each other, he could still get her to fall in love with him all over again. Though her hearts may feel like they are faltering, though there are times when she thinks it will be easier to give up on it all, she knows that this crazy alien is truly _her love_.

"There's that smile." He breathed as he softly touched her nose.

 **A/N: Hmmm. So it got a bit fluffy at the end but that fluff was _definitely_ laced with angst.  
**

 **I hope you got as much enjoyment (is that twisted to say what with the suffering of the characters?) reading this as I did writing it!**


End file.
